Fool Me Once
by OTH-FOQ
Summary: Before the finale battle, Spike does some thinking about Buffy and realizes that it was never about him, nor about Angel. One-shot, better than it sounds. B/S B/A B/F


**Little one-shot taking place before the final battle of season 7. It's Spike's POV, despite being listed as a Buffy/Faith story. Read and you'll understand why.**

**I don't own anything. Unfortunately. Because there aren't many shows that can surpass this one.**

**Please, leave a review to tell me what you think :)**

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><p>He knew from the beginning that falling in love with Buffy Summers would only break his non-beating heart. But that didn't stop him from running head first into the wall. Because she was that kind of woman you can't help but love. And he tried to get rid of the feeling at first. That ended with him getting a soul. He was finally the kind of man she could fall for. After all, she had fallen for Angel. And God knew Angel had been a much worse vampire than him before he got his soul.<p>

Spike had _wanted_ a soul, he had fought hard for it. Angelus had been _cursed_, he had never asked for that soul. That was the difference between them. But Angel had met Buffy first, and he already had a soul back then. That's why he'd always have the advantage in a fight for the young girl's affection.

He had been her first love, her first boyfriend, her first time. Despite everything that happened between them, when Angel reverted back to Angelus, Buffy had never stopped loving him. Spike knew every detail of what happened in Sunnydale while he was away. Buffy had killed Angel and sent him to Hell, in spite of her feelings for him. Somehow, Angel found a way back to the world. And shortly after, another Slayer came into town. Everything was complicated then, and Spike was glad that he hadn't been here to witness it.

Her name was Faith, and she was a wild child. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark past, dark entity, dark Slayer. Dangerously _dark_. Spike knew her history. Abused child, absentee father, drunken mother, dead Watcher. Raised by herself. Screwed-up childhood. The perfect cocktail for a fucked-up Slayer. And that's what she eventually became. Inevitably, Spike would say if asked. Even with Buffy by her side, the girl was doomed. The temptation of Evil had been too strong for her to fight. With all the issues she had, Spike was actually surprised that the young girl lasted that long before joining the Mayor. Her betrayal had shaken the Scooby Gang, especially Buffy. She had put her trust into Faith, and the other Slayer had given up the good side in an instant without looking back at her.

Spike understood why, though. The appeal of evil was strong and tempting. Faith had been weak, afraid, and she had fallen over the edge. No one had been there to catch her. No one had tried hard enough to reach out to her. Not even Buffy. At this point, Spike believed that if Angel had never come back, Buffy would've tried harder to save Faith's tortured soul. But the blonde Slayer had already enough problems to deal with. And Faith became her nemesis. There was no doubt that this situation crushed Buffy. She had lost an ally and made a new enemy. He didn't know more than that. Except for the final fight in Faith's apartment, where Buffy had stabbed her with her own knife. Angel was dying because of Faith and her poisoned arrow, and Buffy couldn't stand that. She had made the choice to save Angel, to kill Faith for him. She had failed.

He then had met Faith, while she was in Buffy's body. Until a couple of days ago, he didn't even know that she had been the one behind the body swap. And bloody hell, from what he remembered, that Faith was indeed one psycho girl. Psycho, _sexy_ girl. He had tried a few times to talk to Buffy about her, but the Slayer always refused to say anything about her former ally. He had heard of their brief encounter in Los Angeles three years ago. Buffy had come back to Sunnydale completely shattered, and for a long time, Spike had believed it was because Angel had chosen Faith's side.

But it was never about Angel.

The vampire didn't matter as much as he used to. Their romance was history. It was over as soon as she killed him to prevent the Apocalypse. They both tried to make things better once he came back, but their relationship was lacking the fire of passion that used to consume her before. Angel was still in love, it was obvious. But Buffy wasn't anymore. And Spike should be hoping, because that was his chance. Unfortunately, if it wasn't about Angel, it wasn't about him either.

It was all about _her_.

All these months trying to do what's right so that Buffy would see that he was as good as Angel now, only to realize that she didn't want Angel. She didn't want him.

Buffy wanted Faith.

It sounded crazy, even to his own ears, but he knew that was the truth. Because it explained everything he hadn't been able to understand about Buffy. Faith was the key to all her mysteries. And Spike knew how much Angel, Faith and himself were alike. Dark past, murderers, redemption.

Buffy couldn't give her heart to him, because it had been stolen years ago by another Slayer. Faith was back now, and he was just another witness to their unbreakable bond. He could see the hate, the guilt, the remorse, the pain, the apologies never heard, the words never said. But above all, he could feel the heat between them, the burning passion, the fire of love. He could see what no one else seemed to see : the longing looks, the lingering touches, the smiles. Everything screamed love to him.

They just weren't ready to confess their feelings to each other. It made him boil. In less than a day, there was a possibility that they would all die in the final battle against the First, and they were supposed to enjoy their time left. But no. Buffy was still living in denial. She kept trying to tell him how much she cared for him, and how much she needed him. It made him feel all warm inside, but he wanted to yell at her for being so blind and stubborn.

It hurt him to think that the person Buffy needed to be happy wasn't him. In a way, he felt sorry for Angel too, because the broody vampire would never love anyone as much as he loved Buffy.

So yes, for a very long time, Spike had been convinced that he never stood a chance with Buffy Summers because she was too wrapped up in her epic love-story with his grandsire Angel. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Buffy Summers was long over Angel. And she never had real feelings for Spike. She had admitted that she'd been using him, and even if things had changed ever since, he knew that in her heart, he'd never occupy the biggest part.

For the golden Slayer's heart totally belonged to the dark Slayer.

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><p><strong>I really hope you liked it ! Feedback makes me happy and eager to write ! ;)<strong>

**"Take Me Away" should be updated soon !**

_**OTH-FOQ**_


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